Supernatural Forces
by americangrl69
Summary: AU Dark AngelBuffy crossover. When Max finds out about what’s happening in Sunnydale she decides to go and help. Chapter 5 posted! MW BS
1. Preparation

Title: Supernatural Forces  
Fandom: Dark Angel & Buffy  
Pairings: Max/White, Buffy/Spike  
Rating: R  
Disclaimer: I don't own Dark Angel, Buffy, or any of its characters.  
Summary: When Max finds out about what's happening in Sunnydale she decides to go and help.

A/N: this story takes place somewhere during season 7 of Buffy. So if you haven't seen that season yet you might not want to read this. Although there, are a few other spoilers for other seasons. In this story Max is friends with Buffy and the scoobies. Oh yeah and my muse is kind of obsessed with Max/White right now but it still works.

Max was in the living room when her cell phone rang. "Hello." Max said answering her phone.

"Hey Max. It's Buffy." Buffy said on the other end.

"Oh hey Buffy. What's up? Another demon trying to cause the apocalypse again?" Max asked.

"Yeah pretty much. We could really use your help." Buffy said.

"Sure. Any excuse to kick some demon ass." Max said.

Buffy couldn't help but laugh at Max's enthusiasm. "So how soon do you think, you can be here?" Buffy asked.

"In a few days." Max replied.

"Ok great." Buffy said.

"Hey say hi to Dawn for me." Max said.

"Sure. See you in a few days." Buffy said.

"Yeah in a few days. Bye." Max said then hung up the phone.

"Who was that?" Ames asked.

Max jumped slightly. She hadn't heard him come in. She'd actually been living with him for the past six months though they'd been together well over a year. She turned and looked at him. "Oh just Buffy." Max replied.

"Is that your friend from California?" Ames asked.

"Yes." Max replied.

"What did she want?" Ames asked.

"She needs my help to stop the apocalypse." Max answered.

"You mean the Coming?" Ames asked.

"No, that's not the only apocalypse Ames." Max said. "The world's actually come close to ending several times, each time Buffy's stopped it. She even had to die once to do it." Max added. Max had actually helped Buffy a few times. Though she hadn't been there, when Buffy dead, she came after to help with Dawn though. She'd been bummed when she found out she'd missed Buffy blowing up the school. _Who knew the mayor was a giant snake demon?_ Max thought.

Ames looked at her. "Ok but if she died how is she still alive?" he asked.

"You better sit down." Max said.

Ames took a seat on the couch, while Max sat on the table across from him. "Ok so how is she alive?" Ames asked.

"Well see Willow, a friend of hers, did a resurrection spell and brought her back." Max answered.

"A resurrection spell?"

"Yes. Willow's a witch. A pretty powerful one too." Max said. _Yeah so powerful she almost caused an apocalypse herself._ Max thought but she wasn't about to tell him that. She needed him to trust them. She'd felt bad for Willow though. Max had liked Tara.

"Ok so why is it that Buffy's always the one to stop the world from ending? What's so special about her?"

Max debated whether or not to tell him Buffy's secret but decided he'd find out eventually. "See she's a slayer. She kills vampires, demons, basically anything that goes bump in the night."

_Wow, vampires, demons, witches. And to think I thought they were onlyfrom the movies._ He thought.

Max saw the look on his face. "Hey I know it's a lot to handle. It was for me too when I first found out. It gets easier." Max said.

Ames nodded. "Well if you're going, I'm coming with you." he stated.

"Figured as much." Max said. Then she thought of something.

Ames saw the thoughtful look on her face. "What?"

"I was just thinking. If we're both going, what are we gonna do about Ray? I mean it's too dangerous for him. I don't want him getting caught in the crossfire." Max said.

"You're right." Ames said. He thought for a minute. "We could leave him with Alec."

"Yeah unless you want to come back to a mini Alec."

"Yeah you're right forget that."

Max thought for a minute. "We could leave him with OC. Ray seems to like her enough."

"Ray likes everybody." Ames said.

"No, he doesn't like Logan." Max stated.

"Yeah that's true. Cindy's fine, we can leave him with her." Ames said. _At least I don't have to worry about her corrupting my son._ He thought.

"Ok well I'll go see her and find out if she minds taking Ray." Max said, standing up.

Max walked into her old apartment and waited for OC to get home.

Cindy walked through the door. "Oh hey boo. What's up?" OC asked.

"I need you to do me a favor." Max answered.

"Sure what is it?"

"Well I need you to take Ray for a while. See Buffy needs my help and Ames is coming with."

"Sure no problem." Cindy said. She liked Ray. He was a good kid.

"Thanks."

"So when are you leaving?" OC asked.

"Tomorrow. I'll drop him off in the morning."

"Ok. Any idea how long you'll be gone?"

"No."

"Well it's not a problem anyway."

"Thanks. I should probably go though."

"Ok I'll see you in the morning."

"Yeah." Max said heading for the door.

Cindy hugged her before she got out the door. "You be careful, ok."

"Always." Max said then walked out the door.

Max walked through the door. Ames came out of the bedroom when he heard her come in. "So?" he asked.

"She said it's no problem. We can drop him off before we go." Max said.

"Where are we going?" Ray asked as he walked through the door, Alec following close behind.

"You're going to stay with Cindy for a while. While your father and I go help a friend of mine." Max said.

"But I wanna come with." Ray said.

"No." Max said.

"But..." Ray said.

"No. Now got pack." Max said.

Ray ran into his room to pack. Fighting with her was pointless. She was just as stubborn as his father.

Once Ray was out of sight, Alec turned to Max. "So where is it you're going?" Alec asked.

"Sunnydale. Buffy called either, said she needed my help." Max replied.

"Oh." Alec said. He'd never met Buffy but what Max had told him about her, he liked.

"You sure you can handle things while I'm gone?" Max asked.

"Yes. I'll call you if I need you." Alec said.

"Good. I'll call you when we get there." Max said.

"Ok but I better go. Just be careful Max."

"I will." Max said.

Alec turned and walked out the door.

Max turned to Ames. "I guess we better go pack too." Max said. Ames nodded. Then they both went into the bedroom to pack.

A/N: Was it any good? The next chapter will be more Buffy. I might bring Alec in again later, but I don't know. If I do, I'll pair him with Faith.


	2. Conversations With Spike

Max knocked on the Summers' door.

"I'll get it!" Dawn yelled. She opened the door. "Max!" she exclaimed with a big smile on her face. Dawn threw her arms around Max.

"Well I missed you too." Max said.

Dawn broke away from the hug. "Right sorry." Dawn said.

"Nah it's ok. So is Buffy home?"

"Yeah come in." Dawn said opening the door wider so Max could enter. "Hey Buffy, Max is here!" Dawn yelled from the bottom of the stairs.

_I could have down that._ Max thought. She shook her head and stepped through the door. Ames followed close behind.

Buffy walked down the stairs. "Hey Max."

"Hey Buffy. So you said you needed my help. What demon is it this time?" Max asked.

"Well come on I'll explain." Buffy said leading them into the living room.

Max and Ames sat on the couch while Buffy sat on the table across from them. "Ok so what demon's trying to end the world now?" Max asked.

"Well I don't know if you can call it a demon. See it's The First." Buffy explained.

"The first what?" Max asked.

"The First Evil. Basically it's the essence of evil. It likes to manipulate people to do things they wouldn't normally do. It even made Spike start killing again." Buffy said.

"But what about the chip? I thought when the Initiative put the chip in his head. He couldn't bite anyone anymore." Max asked.

"Yeah well he's been having blackouts. So he doesn't remember doing it." Buffy explained.

"Oh. Well where is he now? Maybe I can figure it out." Max asked.

"He's in the basement." Buffy said. "Are you gonna be ok here? Because I need to go to the school for a while."

"You mean you're gonna leave us here with a vampire that's been killing again?" Ames finally said, more out of shock than fear.

Buffy looked at him then at Max. "Don't mind him. We'll be fine." Max said. Buffy wondered who he was. She'd never met him before and Max never told her she was with anyone. When Buffy didn't move Max said, "I'll explain later." Buffy nodded then left.

"Max are you insane?" Ames asked once Buffy left.

"No. I'll be fine. Besides I've kicked his ass before and he knows I'll do it again." Max answered. "Now I'm going to go talk him and see if I can't figure this thing out." Max said as she stood up. She turned back to him. "And don't try and stop me." Max added then headed for the basement.

Max walked down the stairs. Spike sensed someone come down and he looked up from his spot on the floor. "Max, what are you doing here?" Spike asked.

"It's nice to see you too."

"Uh right. What are you doing here though?"

"Buffy called me said she needed my help." Max said as she hopped up on the desk.

"Ok. So I suppose she told you about The First."

"Yeah. She told me it's got you killing again."

Spike just nodded.

"Any idea what The First is using to make you do it?"

"Nope. No clue."

"Damn. Well we'll figure this bitch out one way or the other. We always do."

Later that day, Buffy and Max where up in Buffy's room sitting on her bed. "Ok so who's the guy?" Buffy asked.

"Nobody." Max said but she couldn't help but crack a smile.

"Yeah sure. Spill will you."

"Ok, ok I'll tell you. Actually we started out as enemies. Hell we hated each other. I don't know when it changed or even how but I guess they say there's a fine line between love and hate. And I guess somewhere along the way we crossed that line."

"Oh so you love him."

"I didn't say that." Max protested.

"Yeah sure."

"Ok fine. I love him." Max said. "What about you and Spike?" Max asked.

"I don't know. I mean I don't hate him. Hell he went and got himself a soul for me."

"Whoa wait a minute Spike has a soul?"

"Yes."

"When did that happen?"

"After I broke up with him. At least that's when he left. When he was actually ensouled, I'm not sure."

"Wow he must really love you."

"Yeah he does." Buffy said smiling slightly. Max didn't notice or at least she didn't say anything.

That night, Buffy went down to the basement to clean Spike up. He'd attacked Andrew earlier that day before Max arrived. She dipped therag in the bowl of water and gently cleaned the blood from Spike's mouth.

Spike opened his eyes and looked at Buffy. "Did I hurt anyone?" Spike asked.

"You took a good bite out of Andrew."

"Who?"

"Tucker's brother."

"Oh."

"He'll be ok." Buffy said trying to reassure him.

"I don't remember."

"It's ok." Buffy said. She stood up and walked over to the sink to rinse the rag.

Spike used the chains on his arms and legs to get into a sitting position. "Kill me."

Buffy turned around and looked at him. "What?"

"Buffy, you have to kill me."

"You don't understand. When I left the room earlier, I heard you talking to someone..."

"Do you have any idea what I'm capable of?"

"I was in the cellar with you. I saw what you did."

"I'm not talking about the cellar. The people in the cellar got off easy. I'm talking about me. Buffy, you've nevermet the real me."

Buffy crossed her arms. "Believe me, I'm well aware of what you're capable of."

Spike stood up. "No, you got off easy too. Do you know how much blood you can drink from a girl before she'll die? I do. You see, the trick is to drink just enough to know how to damage them just enough so that they'll still cry when you...cause it's not worth it if they don't cry."

"It's not your fault. You're not the one doing this."

"I already did it. It's already done. You wanna know what I've done to girls Dawn's age? This is me Buffy. You've got to kill me before I get out."

"We can keep you locked up. Keep you here and we'll figure out..."

"Have you ever really asked yourself why you can't do it? Off me? After everything I've done to you, to people around you. It's not love. We both know that."

"You fought by my side. You've saved lives. You've helped..."

"Don't do that." Spike said rolling his eyes. "Don't rationalize this into some noble act. We both know the truth of it. You like men who hurt you."

"No."

"You need the pain we cause you. You need the hate. You need it to do your job, to be the slayer."

"No. I don't hate like that. Not you, or myself. Not anymore. You think you have insight now because your soul's drenched in blood? You don't know me. You don't even know you. Was that you who killed those people in the cellar? Was that you who waited for those girls?"

"There's no one else."

"That's not true. Listen to me. You're not alive because of hate or pain. You're alive because I saw you change. Because I saw your penance."

"Window dressing."

"Be easier, wouldn't it, it if were an act, but it's not." Buffy said walking towards him. "You faced the monster inside of you and you fought back. You risked everything to be a better man."

"Buffy..."

"And you can be. You are. You may not see it, but I do. I do. I believe in you, Spike." Buffy said. The lights flicker and go out. One of the Bringers bursts into the basement, pushing Buffy away from Spike and she falls to the ground.

More Bringers burst through upstairs, smashing through windows and breaking down doors. Willow throws one of them off of her. Dawn does her best to fight back. The Bringer from the basement pushes Buffy threw the basement door. Several Bringers head upstairs and Buffy follows them.

Andrew laid tied up on the bed in Dawn's room. A Bringer enters the room and faces him. He drops the staff he was carrying and pulls out two curved daggers. The Bringer lunges at Andrew, but misses when Andrew rolls off the bed. Buffy comes in, grabs the Bringer, and they fight.

Downstairs, Dawn lays on the floor and stands up weakly. She grabs the staff on the ground. Dawn walks slowly over to the Bringer lying on the floor. He swings his foot out, tripping her. He climbs on top of her, pulls out a dagger, and aims of her chest. Max walks into the room and throws the Bringer off of Dawn.

Upstairs, Buffy continues fight off the Bringers. Andrew stands up and tries to sneak out. Buffy grabs him, swings him into the Bringers, then throws him on the ground. One of the Bringers walks towards Buffy with daggers. She grabs his wrists, kicks him backwards, and grabs the daggers. Another Bringer lunges at her and she stabs him in the stomach with a dagger. Buffy does the same with the last Bringer. Max walks into the room.

"Buffy?"

Buffy looks at her. "Dawn?"

"She's fine." Max said. She looked at the lifeless bodies on the floor. "Is that it? I thought there was more of them."

"Spike." Buffy said and the two hurried out of the room.

Buffy and Maxwent down to the basement. Buffy stops dead in her tracks when she sees Spike no longer down there.

Willow comes into the living room with the first aid kit. Anya, Dawn, and Xander are on the couch, and Ames is sitting in the chair. Willow sits on the coffee table. Buffy and Max walk in together.

"They were so fast and organized." Max said.

"They were after Spike all long." Buffy said.

"And we were just in the way." Max said.

Buffy knelt down to inspect of the Bringers. "I know these guys. I've fought them before. They work for the First."

Down in the basement of the new Sunnydale High, a Bringer straps Spike to a ritualistic construct. "You'll have to excuse the spectacle, but I've always been a bit of a sucker for the old classics." The First in Spike's form said grinning wickedly.

Spike's tied to the wheel-like construct with all four corners of his body pulled in different directions. A Bringer pulls out a knife and uses it to cut Spike. Spike moans in pain. He eyes the First.

"Oh, don't look at me that way. I wanted to do this more subtle-like. My Harbingers have a tendency to call attention to themselves." The Bringer cuts Spike again. The First leans forward. "You're the one who couldn't hold his end of the bargain. You're the one who couldn't take care of what's-his-name. You're the one who had to make breakthroughs and learn something about himself." The First said.

The Bringer cuts Spike once more."So now, fittingly, you're the one who gets to do the honors." The First crossed his arms then morphed into Buffy's form. "I have to admit, I'm glad it worked out this way. I was going to bleed Andrew, but you look a lot better with your shirt off." The First said, still in Buffy's form.

The Bringer cranks the wheel attached to the mechanism that hoists the wheel Spike's tied to into the air. Spike's now hanging about ten feet from the ground, bleeding steadily from his ritualized symbol-shaped cuts.  
"To be honest, I'm getting a little tired of subtle. I think it's about time we brought some authority to our presence. Now, Spike, wanna see what a real vampire looks like?"

Spike's blood's pooling in the grooves of the Seal of Danthazar, and being absorbed by it. The seal glows and one by one, the points of the pentagram begin to fold in the center making a pyramid. Light comes out from underneath it. The pyramid sinks into the ground and the remaining pieces of the seal follow.

Spike glared at the First, then watches the hole where the seal was. Something sticks it's hand out of the hole. An ubervamp climbs out wearing black leather. It raises it's hands to the sky, looks around the room, and then growls menacingly.

A/N: ok so i add the last couple of scenes. it just makes it longer and i thought i should have them in here.


	3. Potentials

A/N: sorry it took me longer to update this one. i was kind of waiting on netflix but anway this sort of turned into an au of the buffy ep, bring on the night, but it was an important one anyways. oh yeah and i added a few more scenes to the chapter 2 so you might want to go back and reread that one.

The doorbell to the Summers' home rang. Max got up and answered it. "Giles?"

"Max, what are you doing here?" Giles asked.

"Buffy called me."

"Oh is she here?"

"Yeah in the living room." Max said. She stepped aside so he could enter. Giles stepped through the door followed by three girls that looked about Dawn's age.

Everyone sat in the living room listening to Giles' explanation. Dawn stood, arms crossed, inspecting the potentials.

"So they're all slayers?" Max asked from her place on the arm of a chair.

"Potential slayers. Waiting for one to be called. There were many more like them all over the world, but, um, now there's just a handful, and they're all on their way to Sunnydale." Giles explained.

"The others were murdered." Buffy said.

"In cold blood. As well as their watchers. We always feared this day would come, when there'd be an attack against not just an individual slayer, but against the whole line."

"The First. That's what it wants." Max said.

"Yes, to erase all the slayers in training and their watchers along with their methods." Giles said.

"And then Faith, and then me. And with all the potentials gone and no way of making another, it's the end. No more slayer. Ever." Buffy said.

"But we haven't found any information on The First. No documentation..." Willow said.

"That's because it predates any written history, and it rarely shows its true face. The only record I know was in the Council Library." Giles said.

"What about the Council? What do they have to say about this?" Anya asked.

"Gone." Giles answers. He looks at Buffy, who just stares back in shock.

"What?" Willow asked.

"Obliterated. They were in session, and, uh, there was an explosion." Giles said.

"That means all the Council's records are destroyed?" Max asked.

Giles looks over at the potentials. "Annabelle." Giles said. She unzipped her backpack, took out two books and a stack of files, and put them on the coffee table. "That's what's left." Giles added. Buffy, Max, and Willow each took either a book or a file. "The mystic secrets of the Watchers. And whatever I could find on The First. When I learned what was happening, I...I, um, I stole them." Giles finished.

"And you blew the Council up! See, this is what happens when you're all stuffy and repressed. You overreact." Anya said.

"Anya shut up." Max said.

"What?" Anya asked confused.

Max just sighed and rolled her eyes. "Not...I didn't. It must've been an agent of The First, after my little burglary session. The knowledge contained in these files had to be protected, and there wasn't time for...for bureaucracy or debate. The Council knows no other way." Giles explained.

"It's ok Giles. Anya just needs to learn to think before she speaks." Max said. Anya glared at her but Max just ignored her.

Andrew, still tied to a chair, said, "Yeah and it cost them their lives."

Max turned around. "Andrew shut up before I make you." Max said in a not so friendly tone.

"Ok go on." Andrew said.

Buffy looked at Xander. "Can we gag him now?" Buffy asked. Xander got up and duct taped Andrew's mouth so he couldn't talk. "But what do these records say about The First?" Buffy asked Giles.

"Uh, very little. It can change form. Uh, it only appears in the form of someone who's passed away. Also it's not corporeal. It can't touch or fight on it's own. It only works through those it manipulates. And it's followers, the Bringers." Giles explained.

"Those freaks in the black robes." Kennedy said.

"Yeah, with the hoodies and the crazy alphabet eyes. I never saw em, I just heard..." Molly said in a British accent.

"Shh! Molly, Mr. Giles doesn't need us prattling on." Annabelle said.

Giles sat on the arm of the couch. "The First is unlike anything we've faced before. I mean, there's evil and then there's the thing that created evil, the source." Giles said.

Wow when Buffy said it was the essence of evil she wasn't kidding. Max thought.

"It has eternities to act, endless resources." Giles said standing up. "How to defeat it, I...I, honestly I don't know. But we have to find a way. If the slayer line is eliminated, then the hellmouth has no guardian. The balance is destroyed." Giles added. He walked up and stood in front of Buffy. "I'm afraid it falls to you, Buffy. Sorry. I mean, we'll do what we can, but you're the only one who has the strength to protect these girls, the world, against what's coming." Giles said. He turned and looked at Max. "I'm not even sure you're strong enough Max." Giles said. Max nodded.

Kennedy walked to the center of the room. "That's it? That's the plan? I don't see how one person, even a slayer, could protect us. I saw what those bringer guys can do. They tore apart my watcher." Kennedy said.

"Hey I don't know you but we fought the Bringers last night and we're all still alive." Max said.

Kennedy just ignored her.

"Of course we'll use all our resources." Giles said.

"And if this thing is the root of all evil, isn't the hellmouth it's number one vacation spot? I mean, don't you think we should be hiding our asses on the other side of the globe?" Kennedy said.

"Kennedy!" Annabelle said trying to shut her up.

"No, she's not wrong. We need more muscle. That's why we need to find Spike." Buffy said.

"Yeah, he'll help. You know, if he's not crazy or off killing people or dead. Or, you know, all of the above." Anya said.

Max ignored her. "I can call Alec. He's just as strong as I am." Max offered.

"We'll see." Buffy said. Max nodded.

That night, Buffy and Giles walked down the street. "This place you originally saw The First...you say it was a Christmas tree lot?" Giles asked.

"Under it. There was a hidden cavern. Just happened to be under a tree lot. The Bringers where doing some kind of ritual." Buffy said. She looked at Giles. "Giles, this is bad, isn't it? A new kind of bad." Buffy asked.

"Just in time for Christmas."

Buffy sighed and looked around. "You know, I didn't even realize it was December. Maybe when we get home, we should decorate the rubble." Buffy said. She looked over at Giles again. "Think you'll ever show up for a real visit? The kind where the world isn't about to end." Buffy asked.

"If we survive this, I promise."

"Good. Cause I miss you."

"I miss you too." Giles said.

Andrew's still tied to the chair in Buffy's living room. "So, how long have you followed Buffy?" Andrew asked Xander.

"I don't follow her. She's my best friend." Xander said.

"Huh. She seems like a good leader. Her hair's shiny. Does she make you stab things?" Andrew asked. Xander just rolled his eyes. "What about that other girl, you know the one that threatened to beat me up if I didn't shut up? Who's she?" Andrew asked.

This time Xander answered him. "Oh her, that's Max. She's a friend too. But I wouldn't piss her off." Xander said.

Willow, who just finished make the couch into a bed, grabbed the sheets off the table, and said to Kennedy, "Ok, so Annabelle can sleep down here, uh, Molly can sleep in Dawn's room..." Willow and Kennedy started walking towards the stairs.

"Not if Dawn actually wants to sleep. Molly'll talk her ear off." Kennedy said.

"Ok, then Molly down here, you with Dawn, and Annabelle in my room." Willow said.

"Bad idea. Annabelle snores." Kennedy informed her.

Willow handed her the sheets. "You wanna do the sleep arrangements?"

"Ok." Kennedy said starting up the stairs. She stopped and turned to look at Willow. "You, uh, better not hog the covers." Kennedy said smiling then turned and headed up stairs.

Did she just try and hit on me? Willow thought to herself.

Dawn walked up to Willow. "Does she wanna eat?" Dawn asked a bewildered Willow.

"What? Huh? Oh, she...oh, she's new." Willow said still clearly distracted. She glanced up the stairs once more then followed Dawn to the kitchen.

"Well, Annabelle, Molly, and Max are starved and I totally burnt the mac and cheese. Oh, um, I'll put hot sauce on it, tell em it's an American thing, say it's blackened." Dawn said. The two walked into the kitchen.

Anya scraped the pan of mac and cheese into the garbage. "Actually, it's not blackened so much as ruined." Anya said.

"Or we could order pizza?" Willow suggested.

Annabelle was sitting at the island with Max. "As long as it's plain. I'm veggie." Annabelle said.

Molly was going through the cabinets. She found a box of cereal and opened it. "Cracked, you mean." Molly said.

"Just because you'll eat any kind of trash." Annabelle said.

"Brill!" Molly said. Then she found a box of cookies on the counter. "Biscuits! You don't mind, do you? I just got a cause of the nerves after Mr. Giles' lecture." Molly said.

Dawn took the box of cookies from Molly then opened it. "Knock yourself out. I feel a cookie problem coming on myself." Dawn said.

"Ooh give me some of those." Max said reaching for a box.

Ames walked up behind Max. "Max? Cookies?" Ames said.

Max looked up at him. "Yes. Your father did something right. He gave me a high metabolism so I can eat whatever I want and I don't have to worry about gaining a pound." Max replied.

Molly and Annabelle gave each other confused looks. "She's a transgenic." Willow said.

"What's that?" Molly asked.

"I'm a genetically engineered soldier. I was built in a lab by his..." Max motioned with her head toward Ames. "Crazy father. I'm about as strong if not strong than Buffy." Max explained.

"Oh." Molly said and went back to eating cookies.

Buffy and Giles walked into the empty Christmas tree lot. Lights were strung, but no trees where there. They looked around. "So the entrance to the cave was above ground here?" Giles asked.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure it was around her somewhere." Buffy said.

"Well, we'll just keep..." Giles trailed off when he heard the crunch of breaking wood.

"Aah! Found It!" Buffy called.

Giles looks down the hole. "Good lord, are you already?" Giles asked.

"Peachy." Buffy said standing up. "Except my knee's bent backwards now. Giles, stay up there. I'm gonna check it out." Buffy said. She walked further into the cave.

"Right." Giles said more so to himself.

Buffy walked through the cave. Something moved behind her. Buffy sensed it and turned to look but it was gone. When she turned back, the ubervamp hissed in her face. Buffy's startled and the ubervamp takes the opportunity to punch her. Buffy goes flying across the room, hitting the cave wall, and falling down to the ground. He punches and kicks her with so much force that most of her blocks are ineffective.

Buffy stumbles forward into the other room and the ubervamp follows her. She ducks when he jumps causing him to just jump over here instead of kicking her from behind. Buffy sends a high kick in his direction but the ubervamp dodges it. She does another high kick, which connects with his head, causing the ubervamp the stumble backwards. Buffy grabs onto a stalagmite, uses it to swing around, kicking him in the head, sending him backward again. She throws another kick at him which he blocked. They each threw punches that were blocked. Buffy kicks at him again but he ducks. The ubervamp lunged at her but Buffy jumps backwards out of the way. He lunged at her again and again she dodged it. He threw a punch that Buffy dodged, swung around and threw another one that connects with Buffy's head sending her rolling into the next room.

Buffy immediately gets to her feet. She stabs him in the heart with her stake. He looks at the stake, growls, looks at Buffy, then pulls the stake out. Buffy just stares in shock. The ubervamp punches Buffy and comes after her with her own stake. Buffy dodges his attacks. He punches her in the stomach and throws her against the wall. She throws a punch at him, but he catches her fist in his hand and squeezes until it makes crunching sounds, then he twists her arm. He pulls her body by her arm, slamming her into a stalagmite, before finally grabbing her throat, squeezing, and lifting her off the ground. Buffy winces and looks around desperately until she finds a stalactite. She breaks it off of the cave ceiling and bashes it into the ubervamp's head. He drops her and falls to the ground.

While he's recovering, Buffy makes a run for it. She climbs the cave wall, up towards the hole she'd fallen through. She's almost made it, her hands on the ground of the lot, when the ubervamp grabs her heel. Buffy struggles against him, trying to get out, but he pulls her back in. Buffy kicks him in the head and barely makes it out before the ubervamp comes after her again. She looks up at Giles, who's back is lit by the sunrise. The ubervamp starts to crawl out of the hole but sees the sunlight and retreats back into the cave.

Buffy and Giles walk through the backdoor of the Summers' home, into the kitchen, and find Max and the potentials already up and eating breakfast. Buffy looked at them.

"Sorry about the British invasion." Kennedy said eating her bowl of cereal.

"We've been up for hours." Molly said spreading jelly on her piece of toast.

"4pm London time." Annabelle said.

"And you know I don't sleep." Max said drinking her cup of coffee.

"Oh right shark DNA." Buffy said.

"Yep." Max said.

Then Kennedy noticed the cuts and bruises on Buffy's face. "Are you alright? You look..." Kennedy said.

Buffy closed the door. "Oh. Yeah, I'm ok. I just got into a fight that's all." Buffy said. She turned to Giles. "You wanna tell me with what?" Buffy asked taking off her jacket.

"Yes, Buffy, but don't you think we should discuss this privately." Giles said.

"You mean, not in front of the next generation? No time to coddle them, Giles." Buffy said. She turned back to the rest of the group. "Welcome to the war room, guys." Buffy said.

Annabelle took out a notebook so she could take notes.

"Uh, what you fought was a vampire, but it was, um, something more than that. It was a Turok-Han. As Neanderthals are to humans, the Turok-Han are to vampires. Primordial, ferociously powerful killing machines, as single-minded as animals. They're the vampires that vampires fear. An ancient and entirely different race and, until this morning, I thought they were a myth." Giles explained.

"So, The First shows up, and now this? You think it's a coincidence?" Buffy asked.

"I think it's more likely that the Turok-Han is here as an agent to The First." Giles said.

"Um, did you slay it?" Annabelle asked.

"No, it's still out there, somewhere." Buffy said.

"What's it want?" Molly asked.

"All of us dead. But for now it looks like the sunlight's keeping this ubervamp away." Buffy said.

"Until sunset. I suggest you get some rest. A few hours sleep will do you a world of difference." Giles said.

"No sleep today. Can't." Buffy said.

"Come on, Buffy. You're exhausted. I can take care of these guys." Max said.

"Ah, it comes with the gig. Somehow I don't think taking on prehistoric evil comes with nap time. Sorry guys. I know you came a long way, and you wanna get into it, but the best thing you can do right now is just sit tight, and wait it out. I'm gonna go to work, see what I can find out. I'll be back before sunset." Buffy said.

Later that day, Everyone, save for Buffy, were in the living room. Max, Willow, and Dawn were going through the weapons chest, the potentials sat on the couch, Xander finished boarding up the window, and Ames sat in the chair.

Giles paced the room. "The day's almost over. And the sun will go down in..." Giles said looking at his watch. "17 minutes." Giles finished.

"Hey, junior slayers, don't look so worried. I mean, sure we don't know where Spike is, or how to fight The First, or if and when the super style vampire is gonna attack us all. However, house..." Xander said tapping the boarded up window with his hammer. "Boarded up. Now all we have to do is trap this ubervamp in a pantry, and it's game over." Xander finished.

Willow walked up to Buffy, who'd just come in. She looked at Xander. "Xander, newbies. Let's ease them into the whole 'jokes in the face of death' thing." Willow said.

"Yeah Xander. Don't scare em." Max said sitting down on the arm of the chair Ames was sitting in. She held a crossbow in her hand. Sure she hated guns but she was pretty mean with a crossbow.

"Who's joking? That pantry thing could work." Xander said. Buffy, Willow, and Max just looked at him. "Are you saying M Night Shamalayan lied to us?" Xander asked.

Buffy looked at the potentials. "You'll be ok."

Willow stood by Buffy, holding a mace. "Ok, or even better. It's like our guarantee." Willow said to the potentials. "Um, Buffy, I just, I want you to know that I'm really sorry for letting you down. You know, with the whole magic thing going all aah and me going all eeee and everything getting all rrrr. I wish I could help." Willow said to Buffy.

"No one expects you to make everything right." Buffy said.

"So, I can't do everything, but I should at least be able to do something. I have so much power, but when I try to use it..." Willow said.

"Don't, ok?" Buffy said.

"Ok. But, you need help, Buffy. I know you, and I know you'll never admit it, but you need help." Willow said.

Buffy shrugged. "I'll be ok. Ok, or better. It's like my guarantee. Besides we've got Max to help." Buffy said.

Kennedy stood up and walked over to Willow and Buffy. "Hey, are we gonna get weapons? Trained fighters? Patton's coming? I've heard of worse ideas." Kennedy asked.

"We'll be armed when the slayer thinks we're ready." Annabelle said.

"I feel ready." Molly said.

"You're frightened. You must control your fear." Annabelle said to Molly.

Kennedy turns to Annabelle. "You know what will help with that?" Kennedy said then turns to Buffy. "Weapons."

"Uh, I don't know about that." Buffy said.

"We're sitting ducks without them." Kennedy said.

"We're with the slayer. Safe as houses." Annabelle said.

"Do you see the house we're in?" Kennedy said to Annabelle.

"It'll come straight for us, won't it?" Annabelle asked ignoring Kennedy.

"We should load them up, Giles." Buffy said to Giles.

Xander walked into the dining room, where Andrew was still tied to the chair. "Listen to me, man, I've got a bad feeling about this." Andrew said.

"Of course you've got a bad feeling, dude. You're...you're tied to a chair." Xander said.

"No. Yeah but above and beyond that. I'm telling you that my spider-sense is tingling. This is gonna get hairy. I'm talking weird with a beard. Better untie me." Andrew said.

Max got up and walked over to Andrew. "And why should we do that?" Max said giving him her meanest face.

Andrew cringed. "Please don't hit me."

Max rolled her eyes. "I'm not gonna hit this time." Max said.

"And how exactly is untying you going to help us?" Buffy asked walking up the them.

"Ok, I know what you're thinking. Andrew, bad guy. You think I'm a super-villain like Dr. Doom or Apocalypse or...or The Riddler." Andrew said.

"Enough with the comic book references already. I mean I know you're a comic book geek but please." Max said but Andrew just ignored her.

"But I admit I went over to the dark side, just to pick up a few things, and now I'm back. I've learned. I'm good again." Andrew said.

"And when were you good before?" Buffy asked. She, Xander, and Max walked out of the room.

Buffy looked out her bedroom window. She turned when Giles entered the room. "How are we on time?" Buffy asked.

"Sunset should be any minute now. Done everything we can. And don't worry, everyone here understands you're calling the shots." Giles said.

"I just hope I'm calling the right ones." Buffy said.

"You have all my faith." Giles said.

"I have faith in you too Buffy." Max said entering the room and taking a seat on the edge of the bed.

"Thanks Max." Buffy said smiling at her.

"And they're depending on you Buffy." Giles said.

Buffy looked at him. "Giles, not exactly what I needed to hear right now." Buffy said.

Molly enters the room. "Guys?" Molly said interrupting them. They all turn and look at her. "Annabelle split." Molly said.

"I'll come with you." Max said getting up from the bed.

"No you should stay here just in case." Buffy said.

"Ok just be careful." Max said.

"Don't worry I will." Buffy said then left the room.

Buffy found her way into an industrial complex. She walks past some dumpsters and finds Annabelle's lifeless body lying on the ground.

The ubervamp comes up behind her and punches her, knocking Buffy to the ground. Buffy looks at him, he growls, and she gets into a fighting stance. She kicks at him but he ducks, she punches at him and he blocks it. The ubervamp punches Buffy in the face, then in the stomach, and she falls face first to the ground. He picks her up and tries to choke her, but she spits blood in his face distracting him. He drops her and Buffy runs into a nearby factory. The ubervamp heads into the factory looking for Buffy. Buffy surprises him by coming up behind and smacking him in the head with a large metal pipe, but doesn't even knock him down. They fight, throwing kicks and punches at each other. The ubervamp manages to get the pipe away from Buffy and just throws it on the ground. He throws a few more punches before he punches her so hard in the stomach that she goes flying across the room. He runs at her. Buffy looks around and finds a pulley hoisting a pallet of metal beams. Buffy kicks the control lever for the pulley, sending the beams crashing on top of the ubervamp as he comes towards her. She gets up and runs further into the factory. She stops when she hears the pipes moving. She turns and sees the ubervamp rising from them. In no time, he catches up to Buffy, grabs her from behind and throws her into a concrete wall. Buffy steps back, as the ubervamp crawls up the wall to gain momentum, then kicks her in the face knocking her to the ground. Then he kicks her in the head again before grabbing her arm and throwing her through a concrete brick wall. The wall crumbles down on top of her and the roof caves in.

"Buffy!" Xander called. He lifts off the metal roof. "Oh, God almighty."

Buffy's up stairs listening to what's being said downstairs. "What do we do if she can't fight, if she can't beat this thing?" Willow asked.

"We're back at square one." Giles said.

"What square would that be, exactly?" Xander asked.

"I'm not sure. The First predates everything we've ever known, or can know. It's everywhere. It's pure. I don't know if we can fight it." Giles said.

Buffy comes down the stairs, enters the room. "You're right." Buffy said and everyone looked at her."We don't know how to fight it. We don't know when it'll come. We can't run, can't hide, can't pretend it's not the end, cause it is. Something's always been there to try and destroy the world. We've beaten them back, but we're not dealing with them anymore. We're dealing with the reason they exist. Evil. The strongest. The First." Buffy said.

"Buffy, um, I...I know you're tired." Giles said.

"I'm beyond tired. I'm beyond scared. I'm standing on the mouth of hell, and it's gonna swallow me whole. And it'll choke on me. We're not ready? They're not ready. They think we're gonna wait for the end to come, like we always do. I'm done waiting. They want an apocalypse? Oh, we'll give em one. Anyone else who wants to run, do it now. Cause we just became an army. We just declared war. From now on, we won't just face our worst fears, we will seek them out. We will find them, and cut out their hearts one by one, until The First shows itself for what it really is. And I'll kill it myself. There is only one thing on this earth more powerful than evil, and that's us. Any questions?" Buffy said.

A/N: i know really long but that's good right? anyway i still need to know if you guys want Willow and Kennedy together or not. Cause if I don't get any response I'll probably just not do it. I know Ames wasn't in this one that much but he'll be in the next chapter, promise. Anyway did you like it? let me know.


	4. Family

A/N: i didn't get any reviews last time. i hope people are still reading this. if i don't get any reviews for this one maybe i wouldn't finish it. if you want more you gotta review. anyway here's the next chapter.

Max sat on the couch in the living room going through the books Giles had brought while everyone else was in the kitchen. She sensed someone next to her and turned to see who it was. "Ben?" Max asked.

"Yeah Maxie it's me."

Max shook her head and scooted away from him. "No. You're not Ben. You're the First." Max said.

"Max it's me, Ben. Remember I used to tell you stories and make shadow puppets for you when you couldn't sleep."

Max thought for a minute. _Well maybe._ She thought. She really wanted it to be him. It had been so hard on her after he died. "Ok maybe you are him." Max said.

Then Ben's face turned cold and angry. "You killed me Max."

"You asked me too. I didn't want to." Max said.

"Yeah but you did it anyway."

Max was near tears when Ames walked into the room. "Max it's not him." Ames said. Max immediately stood up and walked over to him, tears streaming down her face. Ames just held her. He wanted to kill The First himself for what it was doing to Max. He knew it had been hard on. Max had told him about it at one point.

"Oh look Maxie's sleeping with the enemy. Wonder what Zack would say? Oh wait that's right he doesn't even remember who you are. You made sure of that, didn't you? Renfro was right. You are poison. You destroy everyone that loves you." The First said then disappeared in a flash of light.

Ames just her cry on his shoulder. "Shh Max, it was him. Whatever he told you, it's not true." Ames said trying to comfort her but it didn't seem to be working too well.

Max pulled away and looked at him. "But The First was right. I did kill Ben. I didn't have to but I did." Max said.

"It wasn't your fault, Max. He asked you do it. I'm sure he doesn't blame you." Ames said again trying to comfort her.

Max just shook her head. "Maybe Renfro was right. I am poison. I destroy everyone that loves me." Max said.

"I love you and you haven't destroyed me." Ames said.

"I'm sure the Conclave would say differently." Max said.

"Screw what they think. I love you Max, and you couldn't destroy me even if you tried." Ames said. Max cracked a smile and wiped the tears from her eyes. "Ok let's go. We should tell Buffy what happened." Max just nodded and followed Ames into the kitchen.

Buffy immediately knew Max had been crying. She walked up to Max. "What's wrong? What happened?" Buffy asked.

Max didn't think she could explain it without crying again. She looked at Ames, look in her eyes told him she couldn't do it. "The First got to her." Ames said. "It was in the form of Ben. He made her feel guilty about what she did, to him and Zack."

The potentials looked at each other confused. Willow looked at them and said, "I'll explain later." She walked over and hugged Max.

"Max I'm sorry." Buffy said joining in the hug.

"Thanks guys. But I'll be fine, I promise." Max said as they broke the hug.

Later that day, Willow and the potentials where in the living room. "So you want to explain to us now, Willow?" Kennedy asked.

"Oh right. Well what exactly do you want to know?" Willow asked.

"Who are Ben and Zack? And what happened? What did Max do?" Molly asked.

Willow sighed. _This could take awhile._ Willow thought. "Well first, Ben and Zack are Max's brothers. Well not actual brothers more like really close friends that you like of as family."

"Oh ok. So what happened? Why does Max feel guilty?" Molly asked.

"Well first you guys should know that they're like Max. They're transgenics too." Willow said and the others nodded. "Ben kind of went, for lack of a better word, crazy. He started killing people. Anyway, Max found him, they fought, and he asked her to kill him." Willow said.

"And she did?" Kennedy asked.

"Yeah she did. She took it pretty hard too." Willow said.

"Aww man. That sucks." Kennedy said.

Willow nodded and continued, "Zack was in love with her. He even killed himself so she could life."

"He really did love her." Molly said.

"Yeah he did. Anyway, Max found him but he didn't remember anything. She helped him remember but apparently Manticore, the place that made them, brainwashed him to kill Logan." Willow said.

"Who's Logan?" Kennedy asked.

"Logan was the man Max used to love or thought she loved. I'm not really sure which. Anyway, Zack tried to kill him, Max stopped him by electrocuting him. He didn't die but it wiped out his memory then instead of trying again she sent him away to live with a friend of Logan's." Willow finished.

"No wonder Max was so upset." Kennedy said.

That night, Max laid in a sleeping bag on Buffy's bedroom floor. She'd actually managed to fall asleep.

"_Max" a male voice whispered._

_Max sat up. "Ben?"_

"_Yeah Maxie it's me. It's really me this time." Ben said. He looked over at the sleeping man on the floor next to her. "He really does love you, you know."_

"_Yeah I know. I love him too, Ben."_

"_Yeah I know you do, Maxie." Ben said. He looked at a sleeping Buffy. "She loves you too. They all do."_

"_Yeah I know. I love them too. They're my family too, Ben." Max said._

"_Yeah I know." Ben said. "You've got a big battle ahead of you. You have to be strong, Max. They need you. You can't let The First get to you. Because none of it's true. I don't blame you for what you did. I ask you to kill me. I love you, Max. I'll always love you."_

"_But it was so hard after you died."_

"_I know and I hate that I put you though that. I wanted to tell you then but they..." Ben said looking up. "Wouldn't let me."_

"_You mean you're in..."_

"_The good place. Yeah."_

"_What about Zack? I didn't have to send him away but I did. I took the easy way out, Ben."_

"_Zack'll understand."_

"_Yeah well he always said Logan would get me killed and now I'm in love with the man that has tried to kill me."_

_Ben looked back down at Ames then looked back at Max. "He's changed. He wouldn't let anything hurt you, Maxie."_

"_I know that but I really don't think Zack'll care."_

"_Sure he will. He'll see it, like we all do."_

"_You really think so?"_

"_Yeah I do." Ben said. "Promise me you'll be strong."_

_Max nodded. "I will Ben, I promise."_

Max sat up and looked around. Buffy sensed Max was awake and looked at her. "Max, what's wrong?"

Max smiled. "Ben. I saw him. He told me he didn't blame me and that I had to be strong."

"Ben was here?" Buffy asked a bit confused.

Max shook her head. "No in my dream."

A/N: did you like it? let me know. oh and just incase anyone was confused dream ben was real ben. i think it was pretty clear but just incase.


	5. It's Showtime

A/N: ok this chapter was getting pretty long so I'm gonna split it in two. is anyone besides sita reading this? if so please review. thank you. i've also decided that i am going to bring alec in later probably about the time faith comes in and i'm not gonna put willow and kennedy together unless i get told otherwise. sorry it took me awhile but with the holidays and everything i've just been really busy. i hope you all had a good one. hope you like this next chapter.

A bus pulled into the Sunnydale bus depot, a few people exited the bus, then an African-American girl about sixteen walked off the bus. She briefly looked around then walked over to the empty bus depot. She walked up to the building and noticed that the doors are closed and that the lights are on. She figures it must not be opened yet. She goes to the nearby payphone, grabs the phonebook, and begins to flip through it. She runs her finger down the list of names on the S page of the phonebook. "What?" she said to herself once she realized the page she needed had been torn out. She looked up from the book to see one of the Bringers approaching her. She drops the phone book and turns to run but finds two more Bringers coming towards her, both holding knives. She backs up against the wall, panicked and breathing heavily, then she sinks to the ground.

Buffy sneaks up behind two of the Bringers, grabbing them from behind, and launching them to either side of her. The third Bringer starts to run away while the other two Buffy had attacked come back for more. One lunges at Buffy with his knife, but she grabs his hand and stabs the other Bringer with his knife, and she kicks him to the ground. Buffy continues fighting the other Bringer until she's got her arm around his neck and snaps it, tossing him on the ground. Buffy notices the last Bringer making a run for it. "Hey." Buffy calls. She picks up the knife at her feet. "Try picking on someone my own size." Buffy said then hurled the knife at him, stabbing him in the back.

Buffy walks up to the girl, who's cowering on the ground. "Rona, right?" Buffy asks. Rona nodded. "I just got word you were arriving." Buffy added offering her a hand to help her up.

Rona got to her feet. "You're her." Rona said.

"Her is me." Buffy said.

Rona looks around the parking lot again. "You know, I thought, uh...they told me I'd be safe here." Rona said.

"Right. Well, you are. I mean, you will be...safer...with me around." Buffy said.

"That's good." Rona said.

Buffy starts to walk away, Rona following behind. "Next time you're attacked..." Buffy said.

"Whoa, whoa...next time? You mean I'm gonna get attacked again?" Rona asked.

"Welcome to the hellmouth." Buffy said.

Max and the potentials sat on the floor in the living room talking. "Annabelle was all, 'Control your fear, control your fear.' Meanwhile, she's the one the goes scampering off, right into that Turok-Han vampire. Poor Annie." Molly said.

"Great, so the slayer that's supposed to protect use let her get killed?" Eve asked.

"She didn't let her get killed. Annabelle was foolish." Max said defending Buffy.

"Right, Buffy can't be faulted by arriving too late." Molly said agreeing with Max.

"It's not like she could have stopped it. I mean the super vampire messed her up pretty good." Chloe said.

"No lie, she still looked like a big bruise when I got here, and that was already like the day after." Vi said.

"And why isn't she back yet? Buffy, she left to go get the new girl over an hour ago. Maybe she ran into trouble. You don't think she was too late again." Eve said.

"Maybe..." Molly said.

"Maybe we could save the maybes for a more dayish part of the day, girls." Xander said. He was lying on the couch trying to sleep but was finding it rather difficult. He reached up and turned on the lamp. "Transgenics and potential slayers can function without sleep. Me, I'm no good without my usual ninety minutes." Xander finished burying his face in the pillow.

"Aww Xander, we keeping you awake?" Max asked teasingly.

"Yes." Xander said putting the pillow over his head.

"Oh you poor baby." Max teased. Xander threw his pillow at her. Max grabbed it before she was hit and the potentials just shrieked.

"I'm with him. Keep the chatter down! Or, speak up so I can hear you." Andrew said from his chair in the other room.

Max looked at him. "Want me to throw this pillow at you?" Max asked in an annoyed tone.

"No." Andrew said.

"Alright then, shut up." Max said.

Buffy walked in the door with Rona. "You guys are all still up?" Buffy asked.

Xander sits up. "Ah! Who needs sleep?" Xander said. Max laughed at him.

"Everybody this is Rona." Buffy said gesturing to the girl standing beside her.

"Hi." Max said.

"Yeah hi." the potentials said.

"Hey Rona." Andrew said.

"Hey Rona." Xander said leaning forward and smiling at her.

Rona, with her arms crossed, looks around the room and sees Andrew tied to a chair. "Um...why is that guy tied to a chair?" Rona asked Buffy.

"The question you'll soon be asking is, 'why isn't he gagged.'" Xander said smirking.

Anya walks into the room with a rolled up sleeping bag in her arms, and Giles follows behind her. "Molly, why don't you show our new houseguest where the kitchen is. I'm sure she's hungry after her travels." Giles said.

"Fair enough. I'm a bit peckish myself." Molly said standing up and heading to the kitchen.

Rona looked at Anya. "A bit what?" Rona asked confused.

"That's English for hungry." Anya clarified.

Rona follows after Molly. "Oh, here I thought hungry was English for hungry." Rona said to herself.

"Everything alright?" Giles asked Buffy.

"She had a welcoming committee." Buffy said helping Anya make a bed for Rona.

"So, The First knows potential slayers are making their way here?" Xander asked.

"I must warn the coven to be cautious." Giles stated.

"The First's always going to be one step ahead of us, Giles. I need to know how to stop it. No, not stop it, hurt it. I want to hurt it, real bad. Tell me how." Buffy said putting emphasize on the last sentence.

"I...I don't know, Buffy." Giles said. He took off his glasses and squatted down so he was eye level with everyone. "I've exhausted all the sources I have left with little result. The Watcher's records are still really all we have to go on." Giles added.

"I made the rounds myself. Tried to dig up anything useful in the demon community." Anya said.

"They're a community now? What's next, the Ladie's Auxiliary?" Xander asked only half serious.

"The ones that didn't attack me, didn't know anything or didn't talk. Either way, we've got squat." Anya said ignoring Xander's remark.

"Well, squat's not gonna cut it. What about the Turok-Han?" Buffy asked.

"The vampire time forgot?" Xander asked.

"Time may have forgotten him but I sure won't. We know stakes wouldn't kill it but anything in those ancient books about what does? Sunlight, fire, germs?" Buffy asked.

"So, Giles, with that thing guarding the entrance to The First's crib, how will Buffy get to Spike?" Andrew asked.

Max looked at him. "I thought I told you to shut up." Max said.

"Uh right shutting up now." Andrew said. He didn't want to piss Max off any more than he already had, and he had a feeling that Buffy wouldn't stop her if she tried to physically shut him up, so he decided he'd better keep quiet.

"Max, it's ok. I really hate to admit it but he's not wrong. There's no way we'll be able to help Spike until this thing is out of the way." Buffy said.

"Spike? Sorry, I'm confused. He's that vampire that's been killing people, right? He's the one you're worried about helping?" Eve asked.

"Well, we need him to...he's the one that's been...it's complicated, Chloe." Buffy said.

"I'm Chloe, she's Eve." Chloe said.

"It's just, we've been talking, and do we have some kind of plan? You know, any kind of plan to keep us from dying?" Eve asked.

Buffy looked at Max wondering if she'd been in on the conversation as well. Max shook her head. "Not me, them." Max said. Buffy just nodded.

Buffy stood and sighed. "We're working on it." Buffy said.

Giles stood as well and walked up to Buffy and Max, who was standing as well. "There is one avenue that we haven't tried yet..." Giles said.

"Giles!" Anya stated standing up.

"Beljoxa's Eye." Giles said ignoring Anya.

"And exactly what part of town is that avenue in?" Xander asked.

"I told you no." Anya said ignoring Xander. She was standing next to Giles now.

"Wh...what's Botox's eye?" Buffy asked confused.

"Beljoxa's Eye. It's an oracle type creature that exists in a dark dimension." Giles explained.

"Internal vortex more like." Anya said.

"Fun." Buffy said.

"Not really, no." Anya said.

"The point is only demons can open the getaway to it." Giles said.

Anya looked at Giles. "Excuse me, ex-demon here." Anya said.

"You're still friends in the fold. Murderous acquaintances anyway." Giles said.

Max smirked. Anya tried so hard to make it known that she was no longer a demon. Max just found it kind of funny, the way she acted anytime someone implied she still was one.

Anya looked at Max. "What?" Anya asked her.

"Nothing." Max said.

Anya just shook her head. Sometimes she just didn't understand Max. She turned to Buffy. "Look, there's no reason to think this Beljoxa's Eye will have any of the answers we're looking for." Anya said to Buffy. It was obvious Anya was completely opposed to the idea.

"I'll take anything I can get. Anya, please, we're running out of time. Spike's running out of time." Buffy more or less pleaded.

Later that day, Anya and Giles were in an alley talking to one of Anya's demon friends, trying to convince him to open the portal. "Why not?" Anya asked.

"You have the nerve to ask me that?" Torg asked.

"Come on, Torg, that was like a lifetime ago." Anya said.

"Three but who's counting. You broke my heart, Anyanka." Torg said.

"Don't be so dramatic, Torg. You don't even have a heart." Anya said pausing. "Six spleens, two stomachs, half a brain maybe, but no heart." Anya finished.

"Don't mock this. The night we spent together was...important to me." Torg said.

"It was one date. And it wasn't even a date." Anya said. Giles just rolled his eyes. "We just happened to be invited to the same massacre, and...and you hit on me after I had a few..." Anya said.

"I remember, you wore pink." Torg said.

"Those were entrails." Anya said.

"I'm sorry, perhaps we could skip the nostalgia..." Giles said. Anya glared at him. "Sorry, no, no, carry on." Giles said.

"Ok, look, Torg, you open this tiny little gateway to the Beljoxa's Eye for me, and I'll..." Anya said thinking for a minute. "You and I will go..."Anya paused again and sighed. "I'll have sex with you again." Anya finally said.

"Ugh, please, you're human. The way you look now, I wouldn't touch you for all the kittens in Korea." Torg said.

"You're rejecting my offer of sexual bribery?" Anya asked dumbfounded. She turned to Giles. "What am I a leper in this town? I can't even give it away." Anya said.

Torg starts to walk back inside. "Come back when you are a leper." Torg said.

Giles stepped in front of Torg blocking his way. "Perhaps this might change your mind. You help us, and the slayer won't kill your clientele and burn your establishment to the ground." Giles said.

Torg glares at Anya then at Giles. He sticks his fist in Giles' face, pulls on a claw sticking out of the back of his hand until it starts making a crunching sound. He squeezes his fist, then flings blood from his wounded hand towards the back alley. The portal opens a moment later. "Ek'vola mok't Beljoxa do'kar." Torg chanted. He turned back to Anya. "There's your sticking gateway, Anyanka. Don't let it hit you on the way out." Torg said walking back inside.

"It's the hair, right? Not attractive?" Anya asked Giles who just ignoring her.

"Come on." Giles said as he walked towards the portal.

"Buckle up." Anya said as they walked into the portal.

"God, I hate this place." Anya said as she looked around the pitch black dimension.

"Where's the Beljoxa's Eye?" Giles asked as he looked around as well.

"Here." Beljoxa's Eye said.

They walk towards it. "Ah! Oh," Anya said waving. "Hi." Anya said.

The phone rang in the Summers' kitchen. Willow picked it up. "Hello?...No, Giles isn't here right...Yeah this is Willow...Althenea, hi! How's the coven? Oh I miss you guess. Still working on that Pleiadian spirit conjuring?...What?...Oh, ok, when?" Willow said.

Xander was in the dining room untying Andrew's restraints. "Ow! Watch it! That's my joystick hand." Andrew said.

Xander rolled his eyes. "I'm not gonna touch that one." Xander said.

Buffy was standing on Andrew's other side with her arms crossed. "Ok, listen up, Andrew. I don't exactly know what to do with you, except that we don't have time to babysit a hostage." Buffy said.

"Especially a hostage that's gotten more then a little ripe." Xander said.

Buffy made a face and backed a few feet away. "So, I'm here to tell you, if you try anything, try to run...Did you ever see the movie Misery?" Buffy asked.

"Six times. But the book was scarier than the movie cause instead of crushing his foot with a sledge hammer, Kathy Bates chops it off with..." Andrew trailed off when he saw Buffy glaring at him and he swallowed. "I'll be good." Andrew said.

Willow came into the room. "Buffy...word from the underground. Another potential arrived in town the day before yesterday. She's at the Sun Spot Motel, near the highway." Willow informed her.

"The day after yesterday? Why are we just finding out about it now?" Xander asked.

"Bringers killed her watcher before he could tell anyone he was sent her. If it wasn't for a particularly powerful seer in the coven, we wouldn't even know about it now." Willow said.

"Ok, I mean," Buffy said looking out the window. "There's still a couple hours of daylight left. You guys should be safe here. I'll get her and bring her back here." Buffy said as she turned to leave.

"I'll come with you." Xander said following after her.

Andrew stands up. "Alright, retrieving a potential. Let's do it!" Andrew said. Buffy and Xander both glared at him. "Or I could just go wash up." Andrew said.

Buffy and Xander walk out the front door and Dawn walks into the room from the kitchen. "Where are they going?" Dawn asked Willow.

"Bring another newbie in from the cold." Willow replied.

"Another one?" Dawn asked.

"Well, the more the better, I figure. We need all the help we can get." Willow said.

"Help. Sure that's cool, but..." Dawn said.

"What?" Willow asked.

"I'm just not sure that more scared Slayer wannabes translates as help." Dawn said.

The potentials are in the basement of the Summers' house training and Max sat on a mat on the floor just watching them. Molly juggled stakes, Kennedy held a punching bag for Chloe, Rona and Eve stood on the sidelines watching, and Vi sat on the mat next to Max.

"What...What are we all doing here?" Eve asked.

"It's called training. Didn't you're ever teach you the word?" Kennedy said.

"I never had a watcher. I only just found out what I was...or what I might be...after those crazy-ass monks came after me." Rona said.

"I meant why are we even bothering? It's not like we can make a difference." Eve said walking into the middle of the room. Kennedy just rolled her eyes.

"We gotta try." Molly said still juggling stakes. "We gotta keep our reflexes sharp." Molly said dropping a stake and shrugging, laughing at herself. Max just smiled at her. She liked Molly.

"We have to be ready. If something comes down..." Kennedy said.

"No, something's already come down." Chloe said.

"She's right. And what are we supposed to do about it? I mean, I've never even see a real vampire in my whole life, much less slayed one." Eve said.

"I've seen one." Vi said. The other potentials looked at her. "Well, my watcher showed me a photograph of one." Vi said pausing. "A blurry photograph."

"That's what I'm saying." Eve said gesturing towards Vi. "Not one of us is remotely prepared to be activated as a new chosen one." Eve said.

"I feel pretty prepared." Kennedy said confidently.

"Excuse the newness of me, but, uh, just so I understand, if a slayer dies..." Rona said.

"When the slayer dies. I mean, nobody lives forever, right?" Eve asked.

"Then one of us..." Rona said.

"Gets activated. Uh huh." Eve said.

"I prefer 'called'." Molly said.

"I heard there's more than one." Vi said.

"More than one what?" Kennedy asked.

"Slayer. There's another one...somewhere." Vi said.

"That doesn't make any sense." Molly said.

"Like any of this does. No matter how many there are, one of us is going to be the next slayer, with the weight of the world on her shoulders." Eve said.

Chloe shook her head. "It won't be me. I mean, not now. I mean, I'm too young." Chloe said.

"Doesn't work that way. In fact, the younger the better. In fact, I'm starting to think it might be too late for me." Kennedy said.

"Never too late. It could be anyone. Especially since there's so few of us left. They'll just run through each of us, one after the other. Kinda creepy, huh? All we do is wait around for each other to die." Eve said.

Max couldn't help it. All this talk about death and dying was making her think about all the brothers and sister she'd lost. All of the ones that had died because of her.

_Ben_

_Zack_

_Tinga_

_Eva_

V noticed the troubled look on Max's face, she placed a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, you ok Max?" V asked worried. The others looked at Max worried as well.

Max shook the thoughts from her mind. "Yeah. Fine. I'll be fine." Max said. They didn't really believed her but none of them knew her well enough to feel comfortable pushing the subject so they just let it drop, hoping she'd be ok.

Buffy and Xander walked up the door for room 25. "You sure this is it?" Xander asked.

"The clerk said it's the only check-in they've had in a week. Tourism must be down." Buffy said.

"Right in the middle of apocalypse season." Xander quipped.

Buffy knocked on the door. "Hello." Buffy said. She knocked again. "It's ok. We're friendly. And we have eyes." Buffy said.

Xander peered through the window. "Buffy...kick down the door." Xander said.

Buffy kicked the door down and entered the room, followed by Xander. She saw a girl lying on the floor in a pool of blood. She kneeled down to touch her then looked back up at Xander. "She's cold. Been dead for days." Buffy said.

"Poor kid. She made it all the way to Sunnydale just to get herself killed." Xander said. Buffy rolled the body over. "If only we..." Xander trailed off.

Buffy looked at the girl's face. "Eve." Buffy said.

"Eve, who's in our house?" Xander asked incredulously.

Buffy and Xander just stared at each other.

The girls sat on the floor of the basement. The potentials all wore a despondent look on their faces. "Just my opinion, but I don't think the slayer can protect us from The First." Eve said turning her head to look at them.

"Eve you don't have to scare them. I mean, look at em." Max said gesturing to the other girls. "They're scared enough as it is." Max said. Max believed in them and she didn't like that Eve was making them doubt themselves. Eve just ignored her.

Dawn stood at a desk going through some notebooks. "Ok, here's another interesting thing: how come the slayer's always a girl?" Andrew asked.

Dawn looked up from what she was doing to look at Andrew. "I dunno. Cause girls are cooler?" Dawn said.

"I think a guy slayer would be badass. Like...like if there was this ninja, a guy slayer would be like," Andrew said holding up in hands in a karate pose. "You may be silent, but this'll shut you up." Andrew said as he did a move. "Hiya."

"Buffy could stomp ninja ass." Dawn said.

"The silent warrior? Ha ha...I think not. She can't even slay that special vampire." Andrew said. Dawn just glared at him. "Everyone's saying." Andrew said.

"Well everyone should shut up. And you should stop pretending anybody here is your friend." Dawn said.

"And also, why's she so about saving Spike? He's a worse killer the me by...a way lot." Andrew said.

"Spike was being controlled by The First. And he has a soul now. Besides, we need his help." Dawn said.

"What about me? Did it ever occur to anyone that I could be a lot more useful around here? I used to be an evil genius. Hello?" Andrew said.

Dawn walked up to him. "And what was your genius thing?" Dawn asked.

"Well, um, raising demons mostly." Andrew said. Dawn cocked her head to the side. "Ok, so, not for now, but there was planning. There were, um, blueprints." Andrew said. Dawn just looked at him. "I can be in this, kicking it righteous. Yeah. Oh, oh, yeah." Andrew said.

"Buffy said if you talked enough, I'm allowed to kill you." Dawn said.

"Not even." Andrew said.

"Even." Dawn said cocking her head slightly to one side.

"Licence to kill, huh?" Andrew said nodding. "Pretty cool. You know, Timothy Dalton never got his props cause he came in at the end of an old regime, but he had it goin' on. He went rogue with the Broccolis. They were just treading water, stylistically." Andrew said.

Dawn shook her head. "Is there a language you're speaking?" Dawn asked.

"Yeah Dawn. It's called nerd." Max said. She'd come upstairs because she'd just had enough of what Eve was doing to the poor girls down there.

Andrew pouted sat down on the couch. "I'm so alone." Andrew said.

"Then maybe you shouldn't have killed your only friend." Dawn said. She starts to walk away and Max followed her.

"I hate that. You don't even know." Andrew said.

Dawn turned back to look at him. "I don't plan to." Dawn said.

"The slayer's not getting it done. I've got my ear to the ground, and the words out." Andrew said. Max and Dawn just walked off. "Do you wanna play Kevin Bacon?" Andrew called after them. He leaned back on the couch and propped his feet up on it.

Buffy walked into the house in a huff. She looked around. Willow, Dawn, and Max sat at the dining room table.

"Buffy." Willow said.

"What is it?" Dawn asked.

Buffy looked at Andrew sitting on her couch. She glared at him, and he sat up and wiped off the spot where his feet had been. Buffy just rolled her eyes and went into the next room. The others just followed after her.

Buffy rushed down the stairs to the basement. "Get away from them." Buffy ordered.

Kennedy looked up from wrapping her hands. "Who? Get away from who?" Kennedy asked.

Eve turned to look at Buffy. "What's the problem, officer?" Eve asked.

"I said get away from them now." Buffy said through gritted teeth.

"Buffy, what did Eve do?" Dawn asked.

"That's not Eve." Xander said.

"Eve's dead." Buffy said.

_So that's why I didn't like her._ Max thought.

Rona held her hands up in confusion. "I don't...I don't understand." Rona said.

The girls got up off the floor and back away from Eve. Eve stood facing Buffy. "Oops! One more down. Oh, well, can't save em all, can ya Buffy?" Eve asked. She turned to the potentials. "Thanks for the slumber party, girls. It's been real fun the last couple of nights. I learned a whole lot..." Eve said.

"Shut up and get out!" Buffy said.

Eve turned back around to face Buffy again. "Or you'll do what? I'll be sending a guest over to visit y'all later on tonight, after the sun goes down of course. Try and make him feel welcome before he rips y'all to pieces. Bye." Eve said then disappeared in a flash of light.

A/N: so did you like it? let me know. sorry for the lack of white in this chapter i just could find a good place to put him. please review.


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